I've always been a sucker for personal growth.

 

And I've always been good at following my heart. Regardless of how hard it was.

 

I think it started back in middle school. I remember feeling a bit lonely and on the "outside of things" -- and stumbling upon some sprititual and personal growth books by mistake. As I started reading these books --- I noticed a feeling of comfort and peace come over me. Oh....there's more to life then just THIS, I thought. THIS -- being the crazy, hectic, LA scene that I grew up in. The idea that there was something MORE. Something deeper. THAT fueled me. 

 

After some inspirational summers at an earthy summer camp in Yosemite, I was inspired to pick up the guitar and start songwriting. This soon became the major outlet for my feelings as I surfed the waves of my tumultous teenage years. I put everything I had into music.

 

Oh...and then there was that time when I was a senior in high school where I ended up in a sweat lodge with a bunch of classmates , and ended up on a vision quest (solo) in the wilderness. My amazing high school set this all up and these experiences gave me my first taste of spirituality, intimacy and connection to the natural world. Kind of blew my mind.

 

After starting college in New Orleans and attempting to follow a traditional life/career path.....I soon had a very strong calling that I needed to spend time in the wilderness. I found a wilderness educational program through UC Santa Cruz and lived with a small little group of hippie kids in the backcountry all over California for months. Totally removed from our modern day culture.  To say it was life altering....well, that would be accurate :)

 

After spending the next year in Berkeley, CA becoming "a crunchy hippie chick" -- I ended up moving to Prescott, Arizona -- and following my hippie chick heart studying Theraputic Use of the Wilderness. Yeah, my parents couldn't believe that was a Major either! ;-) My vision was to do theraputic work with teenage girls in the wilderness -- giving them a taste of the healing and spirituality that I had found so powerful from the natural world. After a few years following that path, I decided that I wanted to move back to LA and pursue my music. Throughout all these years, singing and songwriting had continued to be my outlet, and my heart led me back home to pursue it further.

 

I moved back to LA. Started playing out in clubs and different music venues. And started working teaching human development classes in junior high and high schools. I also ended up helping lead outdoor retreats and rites of passage ceremonies for high school seniors. I loved supporting teenagers and giving them a space place to share what they were going through. It was deeply fulfilling work on so many levels.

 

After recording my first (and only) CD.....I ended up hitting the road and following my passion for music full time. I toured around the country, playing folk/alt country music, moved to Colorado, and lived out the dream I had of making music for my living. It was an incredible three years and I am forever grateful that I took that time to explore that passion and live out that dream. After three years of gigging....I decided that I didn't want the musician lifestyle and that I wanted to settle down in one place and plant roots. 

 

After some deep personal exploration....I decided I wanted to go back to school and become a licensed psychotherapist. My goal was to get my Master Degree so I could work with teenagers -- as I felt I had a real calling to help kids in that age group. I got my degree and after working at a Women's Clinic for a couple years -- and starting my own private pratice --- I ended up working at a High School as a school counselor and therapist for four years. I loved the work --- it was incredibly rich, challenging, and rewarding. But I started feeling the calling to work more with adults. 

 

Throughout all these years, the one passion that remained consistent was my love of personal growth and my desire to understand dating and relationships as deeply as I could. My nose was always buried in personal growth, sprituality and relationship books. Fueled by my own personal need to understand why I was so challenged in my own dating and relationship world....I dove into exploring that realm on all levels. I wanted to understand what was holding me back from having the kinds of relationships I wanted and dig deeper. Over the years, I went to as many workshops as I could on dating and relationships, studied with incredible masters in the field, and read everything I could on masculine/feminine polarity, communication styles, intimacy, couples, and ..... I was determined to have a breakthrough for myself personally. Everything I was learning I applied to myself. I was my own personal guinea pig and while it took me a while to really have the breakthrough I wanted, after years of persistence and determination -- I found that I finally 'got' it. No longer were dating and relationships hard for me -- suddenly it was an area of flow and joy and expansiveness for me. Something big had shifted. 

 

The coolest part about it all was as I applied all I had been learning to the work I was doing with my private practice therapy clients, I found that single woman after single woman was started to have dramatic growth spurts and they were starting to partner up with incredible men. It was then that I realized how deeply I love this work. How deeply rewarding it is to support these women in a way that was helping them have breakthroughs in their loves lives and help them connect with their life partners. 

 

I decided I wanted to dive into the dating coaching world more, and ended up at eHarmony -- working as a Matchmaker and Dating Coach for them. Being there gave me the opportunity to really dive into this work in an even deeper way and further fortified how much I LOVE working with clients and help them find their way to love! 

 

Which brings me to now :)

 

Today I'm a dating and relationship coach -- helping women and men who are struggling in the dating world and are having a hard time making the kinds of connections they'd like. This work delights me and I am in LOVE with helping support people to bring more love into their lives! 

 

 

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OR...

 

• From my first sweat lodge and vision quest that I did as a High School Senior....which gave me my first taste of spirituality, intimacy and connection.

 

• To dropping out of a well esteemed college as a sophmore and giving up the traditional life path I was on -- to follow a 'calling' I had to live in the wilderness. And then following that calling -- which led me to backpacking with a small group of hippie kids to remote areas all over California. 

 

• To becoming a full on 'crunchy hippie chick'  (to the horror of my parents!) in Berkeley and ending up going to a groovy little college in Prescott, Arizona studying "Therapeutic Use of the Wilderness".

 

• To teaching Human Developments classes to junior high and high school students for four years and co-leading outdoor retreats and rites of passage rituals for High School Seniors.

 

• To pursuing my passion for singing and songwriting -- and recording a CD of original songs back in 2003 --- spending three years on the road touring --- playing music independently all over the country and living my dream of being a full time musician.

 

• To going back to school and getting a Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and School Counseling, working at a Women's Clinic seeing clients as a therapist and then building my own private practice.

 

• To working as a School Counselor and Therapist in a High School for four more years.

 

• To working as a Matchmaker and a Dating Coach for a premium service at eHarmony.

 

• To Now. Oh how I love the Now! :)

 

Yes, my greatest qualifications come from my own lived experiences in dating and relationships, and how I learned not only to navigate them successfully but thrive in the dating world. 

I've been there, done a TON of work in the area, grown tremendously from it, and truly -- those are the strongest credentials I have to offer you :) 

 

Nothing is more rewarding to me then being able to use my training, personal experience, and expertise to help my clients avoid the pitfalls and blind spots that are holding them back from having the love they want!

 

I've been there, done a TON of work in the area, have grown tremendously from it, and truly -- those are the strongest credentials I have to offer you :)

 

 

 

 

A lot of my personal bio as it relates to dating and relationships is on my Home page under "My Journey" section. So I won't repeat that here :)

 

 As for this section....I'll give you a little highlight reel of my colorful career path!

 

• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and have been seeing clients since 2007.

 

• Former Matchmaker and Dating Coach at eHarmony.

 

• Taught human development classes at a junior high and high school for years. Helped lead outdoor retreats and rites of passage ceremonies for high school Seniors. Worked as a school counselor and therapist at a high school for four years.

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• Worked as a school counselor at a high school for years. Taught human Spent many years working with teenagers. Was a school counselor at a high school, taught human development classes, and used to help lead outdoor retreats and rites of passage ceremonies for high school Seniors.

 

• Toured the country many, many years ago as a full time musician playing alt-country/folk music as an independent artist. 

 

• Went from LA city girl to becoming a crunchy hippie chick who went to college to study Therapeutic Use of the Wilderness originally. Yep :) My parents were thrilled  ;-)

 

• Lived in Southern California, Northern California, New Orleans, Hawaii, Arizona and Colorado. 

 

 

I've had a colorful past....and it's lead me down many different roads. I was never one of those people who knew what they wanted to do right away. The cookie cutter straight path was never something that inspired me. And looking back, it was the windy roads I took that led me on this wild and fabulous journey! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• How I'm a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and have been seeing clients for the past eight years.

 

• Or how I worked at eHarmony as a Matchmaker and Dating Coach and have had the most interesting experiences!

 

• Or maybe even dip a little bit into the way past.....and tell you about how I used to work with teenagers and was a school counselor or how I used to help lead outdoor retreats and rites of passage ceremonies for high schoolers. 

 

• Or maybe I should dig way back into the well and tell you about the years I toured the country as a folk/alt. country musician. 

 

• Or how I ended up at a college initially studying how to be a wilderness leader. And how I was a crunchy little hippie girl who just wanted to camp all the time.before that I wanted to be a wilderness leader and take girls out into the wilderness and do thereputic work with them.

 

I can tell you about all the different places I've lived: Arizona, Hawaii, Colorado and New Orleans. 

 

Yes...I have a colorful past that's for sure....and have never been one to follow the straight path.

I've always been one to follow the windy roads and take the trails less visited. And that's what's made me who I am. And has given me the experiences that have enriched my life.

 

Yeah...yeah.....those might show you that I have the "qualifications" to be someone who might guide you through this process. 

 

But the truth is, I truly believe that the greatest asset I have to offer my clients is my own personal experience navigating the dating world on my own. As I've lived it, struggled with it, empathize with what they're going through, and have come out the other side with a positive perspective and some damn good tools to help others!! 

 

I know the dating world inside and out. Gone through all the ups and downs with it. Learned so much and then took what I learned and became a dating coach with it. 

 

It's the work I've done, how I've grown from it, that are truly the strongest credentials I have to offer you. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While of course, my background and training as a psychotherapist is helpful in my work with my clients -- I believe that ultimately it is my own personal experience navigating the dating world that ends up being one of my greatest assets to my cleinets as I ahve lived through it, empathize with what they're going through, and have come out the other side with a positive perspective and some damn good tools to help remove the blind spots. 

 

Always driven by a deep desire for higher levels of personal and spiritual growth -- I mined my experiences in the dating and relationship world (going on hundreds of dates over the years!) -- and developed tools and forms of inquiry that I found were essential to removing blind spots and patterns that were creating blocks to finding love. 

 

In all the work I've done with clients over the years, I've found helping people have major breakthroughs in their loves lives is the most satisfying experience for me! Because -- let's be honest ---- relationships are everything.

 

If we don't have great relationships in our lives....then we suffer.

And while we totally can live happy and fulfilling lives as single people, who doesn't want to share their lives with someoen they absolutely adore -- who just GETS them....and who snuggles them up at night and is there to support them and laugh with them and enjoy all the ups and downs with them. 

 

The truth is -- we all want that. We want to be with 'our' person.

 

To be able to use the background and training I have and skills and tools I've developed over the years to really help people have major breakthroughs in their love lives has been the most rewarding experience for me! So much so that after years doing private practice....I decided to branch out and work with high end clients at eHarmony -- working as a personal matchmaker and dating coach to a premimum group of clients. 

 

After experiencing my clients shift their unhealthy relationship patterns and do the inner work on themselves and find great relationships....I decided to branch out yet again, and work solely with people are ready to make a major change in their love lives and are ready to do the work necessary to have a big breakthrough. Helping people GET it...and remove the blocks they have to love -- is the most rewarding work I've done. 

 

While this work can be challenging....and you definitely have to dig deep -- I'm also not one to make the work dull or boring. Working with me...prepare yourself to laugh, feel loved and with no judgment, and to be lovingly called out on your shit when the time is appropriate for it. While I so value holding a safe space for my clients, I also belive that sometimes we need no-bullshit feedback. 

 

 to for cuss words and inappropriate comments...and a lovingly yet no bullshit approach to feedback. While I always feel a lot of compassion for all the things my clients struggle with...I also have a no -bullshit policy -- and I will call things out to you as I see them. I'm no bully...but I don't want to just be that "uh-huh. tell me more" therapist that they train us to be. 

 

Nothing is more rewarding to me then being able to use my training, personal experience, and expertise to help women avoid the pitfalls and blind spots that are holding them back from having the love they want!

 

 

 

Throughout all these years, the one passion that remained consistent was my love of personal growth and my desire to understand dating and relationships as deeply as I could. My nose was always buried in personal growth, sprituality and relationship books. Fueled by my own personal need to understand why I was so challenged in my own dating and relationship world....I dove into exploring that realm on all levels. I wanted to understand what was holding me back from having the kinds of relationships I wanted and dig deeper. Over the years, I went to as many workshops as I could on dating and relationships, studied with incredible masters in the field, and read everything I could on masculine/feminine polarity, communication styles, intimacy, couples, and ..... I was determined to have a breakthrough for myself personally. And after years of persistence and determination -- I did. Dating and relationships stopped being a pain point for me and became an area I loved and thrived in. After spending over two decades in and out of the dating world --  I finally 'got' it. I hit the sweet spot. No longer were dating and relationships hard -- but now they were an area of flow and joy and expansiveness. Something big had shifted.

 

The coolest part about it all was as I applied all I had been learning to the work I was doing with my private practice therapy clients, I found that single woman after single woman was started to have dramatic growth spurts and they were starting to partner up with incredible men. It was then that I realized how deeply I love this work. How deeply rewarding it is to support these women in a way that was helping them have breakthroughs in their loves lives and help them connect with their life partners. 

 

Thoughout the years, one passion that remained consistent throughout the many paths I pursued was my love of personal growth and my desire to explore the areas of dating and relationships as deeply as I could. Fueled by my own desire to understand why I was so challenged in my love life -- I was determined to dig in and learn as much as I could in these realms. And that I did! (I wrote more about my journey in the dating/relationship realm in the section "My Journey" on the Home page of this site. Feel free to read more there!)